The age of the heavy textbook-filled backpacks and printed syllabi is coming to an end.

It’s self-evident that the higher education marketplace has been transitioning to digital content and collaborative learning programs for years. Up until recently, much of this evolution has been laptop based, but today the landscape is migrating to tablets and mobile devices. In fact, most campuses now assume, and plan for, multiple devices per-user when considering bandwidth needs for campus-wide WiFi access.

But it’s not just colleges and universities. K-12 schools are moving quickly to digital learning delivery programs, as well, due in large part to the increasing adoption of tablets and new programs designed to leverage those systems. In the U.S., the Race to the Top Assessment program will essentially mandate online testing for all students by 2015. Many districts are implementing tablet programs before then. Los Angeles Unified has announced a tablet program for “one to one” computing (ratio of device to student), and many other major districts, including New York City, Houston, and Gwinnett County, Ga., have similar projects in the works. Continue Reading »

When Thomas Schaeck talks about the future of social networking and collaboration at the enterprise level, an apt way to sum up his description of what’s possible is: You ain’t seen nothing yet!

While enterprises are already realizing great benefits from social collaboration solutions, what’s in place today essentially lays the groundwork for extraordinary capabilities to come. Schaeck, a distinguished engineer working on social software at IBM Collaboration Solutions, is helping lead research and development that will take social business collaboration to the next level.

Nothing demonstrates the future and potential of social business collaboration more than Smart Social Q&A, a research initiative that lets an employee ask a question and then analyzes it and routes it to the best people in the company to answer it. Schaeck conceived the idea to integrate the IBM Connections enterprise social network and smart social analytics with advanced routing algorithms to enable employees to get the most useful answer to any question they may have, as quickly as possible. He works with IBM Research and customers on realizing this idea. Continue Reading »

In these early days of the 21st century, Big Data, analytics, cloud, mobile and social technologies are transforming our world. This new era of computing provides the instrumentation, interconnection and intelligence that make it possible to build a smarter planet. But, in order to do so, countries, cities, corporations and individuals need to rethink how they go about achieving their goals. Watch this video of IBM CEO Ginni Rometty laying out her vision of the path forward at the Council on Foreign Relations–and her Q&A session with the audience. Join the conversation here and on Twitter at #IBM and #CFRlive. Here’s the speech.

Join us tomorrow to discuss how enterprises can take advantage of today’s cutting-edge technologies to become more competitive. IBM social business leader Jen Okimoto will lead a Smarter Friday chat on IBM’s People for a Smarter Planet Facebook page from 8:00 AM-2:00 PM ET. IBM social business evangelist Sandy Carter will host a #P4SPchat from 12:00 PM-1:00 PM ET on Twitter.

Interest in Big Data has reached new heights for many small companies as they attempt to capture information to glean insights from the ongoing conversations on social channels such as Facebook, twitter and consumer blogs.

Businesses large and small face the challenge of vying for consumers who look around and research extensively for the right deal before they buy. And when they do make a buying decision, they express their views and talk about it to everyone – instantly. They blog about it, they post reviews, they want to be heard, they want dialog. They also will loudly change brands and loyalties if crossed. In short, consumers are increasingly influencers, informed, expressive and networked shoppers who have evolved into “networks of intelligence” and a key voice for a brand. Continue Reading »

As organizations grow more interconnected, business – and business models – are changing. Every two years we ask CEOs and public sector leaders worldwide to share their views on the future. In 2012 we also refreshed the Global Student Study and surveyed members of the millennial generation who as future leaders, customers, and citizens, will be driving change for tomorrow and beyond.

The 2012 Global Student Study, “Connected Generation: Perspectives from tomorrow’s leaders in a digital world,” surveyed more than 3,400 college and university students worldwide to better understand their opinions, beliefs and aspirations. We asked students some of the same questions we posed to CEOs in IBM’s 2012 CEO study, Leading Through Connections. Continue Reading »

Like other media companies around the world, Australia’s Fairfax Media Limited is under pressure due to the fast-changing dynamics in publishing. But Fairfax isn’t taking those challenges lying down. The company, which is a leading media outfit in Australia and New Zealand, owns two of the most popular news Web sites in Australia. “We now have a business based around journalism that creates a large audience, and we hit that audience in print, online, tablet, smartphone and smart TV,” says Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood.

IBM CEO Ginni Rometty

Fairfax is a prime example of a company that has aggressively adopted technology to transform the way it does business and interacts with customers. Hywood was a featured speaker today at IBM’s CMO+CIO Leadership Symposium in Sydney, where IBM executives and clients interacted with nearly 100 chief marketing and chief information officers from Australia’s leading companies.

In a keynote address, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty told the audience that the explosion of data makes it possible for companies to address customers as individuals. “I think this will change the relationship you have with your customers fundamentally, no matter what industry,” she said. “And it will change the relationship between the CMO and CIO.”

During the past year, we’ve profiled nine exceptional “People for a Smarter Planet” who exemplify the spirit of change, innovation, creativity and curiosity that lie at the core of building a smarter planet. They are inventors and researchers, academics and executives, thought leaders, dreamers, risk-takers, pioneers.

These individuals come from a wide range of fields and possess an array of interests and expertise. What they all have in common is a passion for their work and a commitment to make the world a better place.

People have been talking and writing about the “Internet of Things” for more than a decade. It’s the idea that at some point billions of electronic devices and sensors will be connected to the Internet in parallel to the hundreds of millions of people who have access to the Net. But, unlike so many of the whiz-bang technologies that are forever predicted but never arrive, such as flying cars and time machines, the Internet of Things is on the verge of becoming a reality.

So, what exactly is bringing the Internet of Things to fruition? A big factor is the plunging cost of connectivity, which is being driven by the emergence of Heterogeneous Networks (often referred to as “HetNets”). HetNets offer a way to increase the density and bandwidth available to mobile devices. Continue Reading »

Over the past decade, IBM has taken a systematic approach to transformation and has dramatically reshaped the company.

Since I’ve been helping lead that effort, I’m often asked by clients for advice on how to transform successfully. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but there are a few things that most organizations can start doing to create a smarter enterprise. It all starts with creating a movement.

Create a movement. In the age of the social network, employees expect to be part of the process. Mandates from the top aren’t sufficient. Continue Reading »

Electric vehicle (EV) owners and electric utilities may soon enjoy a much closer and more fulfilling relationship than traditional car owners have with gas stations, thanks to a new pilot project announced today by IBM, Honda Motors, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). This collaboration aims to demonstrate the ability to optimize the charge schedule for each customer’s EV battery so that the needs of customers and the electric grid are satisfied on an ongoing basis. That’s still a stretch for most utilities. Continue Reading »

Building a Smarter Planet is a blog intended to provide readers with thought-provoking content and a place to talk about the issues raised within the content. It is our hope that you will feel compelled to share some of the things you see, read and hear on this blog with your friends, family and peers. We feel strongly that this blog is not going to deliver final answers to the issues raised, but that it will represent a starting point for conversation around the issues.